Operation: Six-Point Hope
Operation: Six-Point Hope (Op 6H for short) was a collaborated effort between the Midnight Royal Air Force (RAF), the Extraterrestrial Combat Unit (XCOM), and the Exaltation Initiative (EXALT) to evacuate the Mane Six from Earth on an array of aircraft during the Great Retreat. The Mane Six were to be evacuated from the deck of the HMS Diadem via six aircraft. This included two Black Cats, two Paragons, an EXALT Pave Low and the Skyranger. The six transport craft were accompanied by an escort detail of sixteen RAF Lightning jets, two EXALT Apache helicopters, and two XCOM Raven Interceptors, bringing the total aircraft count to eighteen (six transports, twelve escort craft). The escort detail would have been bigger had the three factions not deployed their forces to protect the Great Retreat from attacking Exodus and Alien forces. They also did not expect the enemy to both get past the blockade on Equestria's side of the Rift and locate the Mane Six. For their protection, the Mane Six were each given a nickname to be used instead of their real name for communication between aircraft. Twilight (Arcane) and Rainbow Dash (Loyalist) were assigned to two separate Black Cats, Applejack (Orchard) and Pinkie Pie (Laughtrack) were aboard two separate Paragons, Rarity (Geneva) was aboard the EXALT Pave Low and Fluttershy (Kindred) was aboard the Skyranger. The eighteen craft were attacked by an Exodus squad of Falcon jets, later followed by several alien UFOs. The Falcons managed to damage a majority of the craft but did not destroy any transports (only three Lightning jet and one Apache) and were forced to withdraw, but a second wave attacked and had more fighters to engage with. Their combined fire managed to take down a Lightning in just the right spot for it to spin out and crash into the Black Cat carrying Loyalist, causing massive drag and damaging the transport considerately, killing a gunner. The combined weight and damage of the lodged jet left the Black Cat exposed, and it was barraged by the Falcons. Once the starboard wing was blown off, the plane splashed down a short distance from the shore. Rainbow Dash survived, escorted by the only other survivor of the crash (a pilot) to safety on the beach. A UFO Large Scout eventually joined the dogfight and began attacking the Paragon holding Applejack with it's Plasma Cannons. The ionised green gases were powerful enough to melt the hull of the craft's top and shielding on the Number 2 Engine, leading to a colossal technical malfunction and the Paragon crash-landed inside an Apple Orchard with Applejack being the only survivor. The XCOM Ravens split off of their escort to dogfight the UFO, barely catching up to the new craft enough to use their close-range Laser weapons. The UFO managed to get the drop on a Raven and land a Plasma shot directly onto the hull, melting through to the engine and causing the craft to erupt in flame before the pilot could eject. With one Raven down, the other was forced to engage the UFO alone while the Lightning jets were engaged with the Falcons and the Apache continued escort. The Skyranger ended up taking a Plasma hit as well as a volley of bullets that hit an XCOM soldier and tore off his arm, leaving the Medic to care for him as Fluttershy barely stayed conscious and sane in the chaos. Thankfully for the defenders, another XCOM Raven piloted by Demon 1-1 joined the battle after utilising Hypersonic Flight to get close enough. The advanced Raven and the skills of its pilot were able to damage the UFO and force it to fly within range of the final remaining Paragon, allowing the former craft to fire upon it using the 105mm Cannon to destroy it entirely through the UFO Power Source being directly hit. With the ship down, the escort could continue to deal with the attacking Falcons. The EXALT Pave Low eventually sustained major damage and crash-landed into Canterlot, with the wreckage falling from the city only seconds after Rainbow Dash was helped out by an EXALT soldier who then failed to get the only other survivor out of the wreckage before it fell, unfortunately leaving the EXALT soldier trapped within to fall to his death. Despite the three downed transports and many destroyed aircraft, the remaining ships made it to the Iceforts of the Frozen North. Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Rarity later made their way to Midnight positions for external evacuations, with Demon 1-1 and the other remaining Raven (Demon 1-3) to both be promoted to Captain and Lieutenant respectively.